European PR Associate Review

Thoroughly enjoyed my placement experience at Samsung, gaining valuable experience of an international organisation and working across exciting campaigns promoting the company's diverse product range. Unfortunately, the latter stages were impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, meaning I lost out on some great experiences at events and had to work digitally for a prolonged period, which I enjoyed far less than my time in the offices. This is no fault of Samsung, who were great in supporting throughout the bizarre period, but the lack of visible output to the work and physical interaction with my team meant I found it harder to enjoy my work.

I became a fully integrated member of the team and was never treated as anything less than equal, which made my time here an invaluable, hands-on insight into a corporate working environment. As an intern, I didn't expect to ever speak to someone as senior as the CMO, but I spoke to him regularly, along with team directors across the business. This was great as it meant that by working alongside these talented people, i could learn and observe from what they do on a day-to-day and long-term basis.

I was provided with consistent support throughout my placement year, both from my managers and the HR teams as part of the emerging talent programme. This helped put me at ease in a new experience, and allowed me to work to my maximum capability. I was aware of many support schemes offered by HR, which were good options to have alongside a friendly, supportive management team who

Extremely busy. Samsung does not give its interns bit-part roles in the company; they become valued an integral members of their departments. I worked in the Europe PR team, so we were responsible for supporting and co-coordinating its many European markets at the same time as driving our own campaigns, meaning that there were never really 'quiet' spells. This was a good thing but required strong time-management and the development of the ability to know how to prioritize, so that you could complete your tasks without feeling burned out through trying to take on too much in a day.

As mentioned above, I was given a large amount of responsibility and supported across all campaigns we worked on. I was included in meetings with senior leadership and worked closely with management in all areas of work. I became a key point of contact for our European markets, supporting them with management of corporate communications and event planning. I led the organisation of hundreds of media for events, some of whom we worked with closely, developing strong media/brand relationships.

I now have a strong knowledge of how a multinational company functions, and of the corporate working environment that is synonymous with it. The responsibility I was given - especially at busy times - mean that I now work more efficiently than ever before, meaning I'll be able to manage my deadlines more effectively in my final year. I also feel more prepared for the world that comes after university; whereas, I feel that if I hadn't done a placement, I would feel far more unsure of what to expect from the business world, and also less confident in my capabilities to play

Positive working atmosphere in a team that approached work with a smile which helped make high-pressure periods of work more manageable. We had weekly meetings between marketing departments to stay aligned on business activity across the European marketing departments. We would often have lunch as a team and I made good friends with other grads/interns across the office, who would provide a good social side to the office, making you feel more positive about your place of work.

Extremely well set up. The emerging talent team made the onboarding process insightful and inspiring, making you keen to get started in your role. They provided regular training sessions and catch ups to see how we were getting on, all relevant to how far into your placement you were.

As mentioned, the emerging talent team at HR provided regular training for the grads and interns. Aside from this, there were numerous learning tools on internal systems available to employees should they want to learn more about a specific part of the business. As well as this, there were a number of training courses you could sign up to, free of charge, in areas like presentation skills and Microsoft Office, which were applicable to your life as a professional.

Appealing, especially as I feel like I didn't get the absolute most out of my placement with the Coronavirus pandemic severely impacted how I worked and the experiences I got towards the end. The grad schemes offer good rotational options should I want to experience multiple roles; or alternatively, there are fixed roles too. The company has lots of employee benefits too, particularly with staff sales, which would be useful if I am moving out into my own place and need to buy domestic appliances or a TV for example.

Yes; we met up regularly outside of work up until the Coronavirus pandemic. We would often get large groups (20+) too, which meant you got to speak to a lot of different people, and hear about different parts of the business which was interesting. The large groups too meant it was highly likely that you'd meet some very likeminded people who you'd get along really well with, meaning you end up with real friendships in the workplace.

I was fortunate enough to live close enough to our offices to not have to rent accommodation for my placement. However, I'm aware that the surrounding area (Surrey/London) is expensive to live in, both from an accommodation and social perspective. Nearest good towns for socialising would probably be Kingston, or maybe Woking as it continues to develop as an area. Beyond that, we tended to head into Clapham or sometimes central London if we were working there.

Not great, you have to head into London for a better scene. However, this isn't too difficult on the train, just not so easy if you're coming back late.

There were sports clubs available and regular employee charity events. One of the coolest opportunities I noticed was the chance to climb a famous mountain with other employees (believe it was Mont Blanc in 2019), which is a crazy opportunity you probably would find hard to come by elsewhere.